Automobile rear signal



' Jan. 6; 1925. V 1,521,942

G. GNAM AUTOMOBILE REAR SIGNAL Filed Feb. 11, 1921 "IIIHIMI Patented Jan. 6, 1925.

GUSTAV GNAM, OF BROOKLYN, NEW] YORK, ASSIGNOR TO AUTO-AUTOMATIC SIGNAL tszntz Tar OFFICE.

' ('10., INCL, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

AUTOMOBILE REAR srqnan Application filed February 11.,1'921. sign n 444,175.

T'o aZZ whom it mag ram Beit known that I, GUSTAV GNAM, a citizen of the- United States, and residing at 2202 Tilden Avenue, Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile Rear Signals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in signal devices for-automobiles and particularly to that class of such devices which give a signal to the trafiic in the rear, to indicate the proposed movement of the vehicle provided with the signal by means readily operable by the foot of the driver. I y

i It is the object of the present invention to provide a device which is absolutely re- 1 liable in its operation and remainsunaffected by the constant vibrations'of the car. It is another object of theinvention to provide controlling means to inform the driver that the device has carried out the desired function properly.

' A further object of the invention is the simplification of the attachment of the switching means to the car and particularly tothe operating pedals. With these and other objects in view the invention consists in certain novel details of" construction and arrangements of parts-hereinafter described and set forthin the appendedclaim;

Reference is to be had tothe accompanying drawings in which:

' Fig. I is a sectional'elevation ofthe signal The panels, 12, 18 and apart of 17 are removed from their holding arms to show the 1 mechanism behind them.

'Fig. II, is a sectional plan of the signal on the line II-II of Fig- I.

FigIII is a sectional side 'ele on the line TIL-III of Fig. I.

Fig. IV, is a wiring diagram .of the signal.

Fig. V, is a plan View of the pedal-switch.

Fig. IV is a sectional elevation on the line VI-VI of Fig. V.'

Fig. VII is aside elevation of Fig. V.

Fig. VIII is a detail showing the relay contact 21;and resilient top of one of the armatures. r

vation taken showing a part of the front of the casing.

'Referring to fag I iIQIII of the 01.

ingthe signal devic'eis mounted on a verticalplate lwhich holds on its rear side a suitable bracket 2 providing means for its attachment to the car. To the front ,sidejof plate l are fastened three vertical solenoids 3- l5 in symmetrical arrangement in and 7 about its vertical centre line. These solenoids are provided -with the armatures 6 -78, The'lower ends of these armatures are slotted to form a fork which holdsby means of the pins 10 in hinged connection suitable arms, preferably shaped from sheet metal. The shape of. these arms can' best be seen in Fig. II. Solenoid i by means of armature 7 carries bracket 11 in central alinement on plate 1. The arm is bent in such a manner that an upwardly directed part of it extends paralleltoplatel, to this;

part a rectangular panel 1-2 is fastened, also parallel to plate 1. The vertical edges of this panel are guided in U-shaped guide channels 13 which are supported near their top and bottom ends in apertures of angularly bent brackets 16 suitably fastened to plate 1. Similarguidechannels 14 and 15 are arranged parallel tof13 in the same.

brackets'16, they guide the panels 17 and 18 .which are carried by means of bent arms 19 and 20 by armatures 6 and 8 and operated by solenoids 3 and 5 respectively;it willbe noticed that arms 19 and 20 are bent topass through the spaces between guide-channels.

1314 and 1l15. (See FigII.) Above each one of the solenoids3, 4L, 5 and in the path of their armatures a contactpoint 21 is mounted in a bracket 22 held on plate 1 as i shown in detail by Fig. VIII. The upper part of the armatures (6) is bored out to form a tube 60 in which a piston 61 is slidably held supported by a helical spring 62.

The upper part of thepiston is slightly reduced in diameter to form ashoulder which forms a stop for its upward motion on the inwardly bent edges of tube 60. In their lowest position the armatures 6, 7,,and 8 rest on brackets 23 which are also held on plate 1. The whole signal device is enclosed in a casing 24 provided with a window open ing 25 through which the sign panels are made visible. The casing is provided in its central upper part with a lamp socket 26 for the rear light 27 which is protected by a hood 28 forming a part of the casing which holds the glasslens 29. When'nuts 30 and bolts 31 hold the casing 24 on plate 1 they are so arranged that a license plate 32 may be clamped to the face of the casing.

In Figs. V-VI and VII details of a push button switch 40 are shown. Two of such switches are attached to the side'edges of-the brake pedal 41 and one to the clutch pedal 42 as indicated in Fig. TV. E ach push button switch consists of a body part 40 which is. preferably attached by a f single screw 43 to the pedalplate 41. The switching mechanism'proper c'onsistsof a button 44 provided witha vertical stem 45 flared out at its base and held in "an aperture of a box like extension of'body 40 which is held close tot-he edge of p'edalplate 41. Button 44'is pushed upward-by means of helical spring 46 which surroundsstem 45 and is lodged in a counterboreof a cylindricalextension 49 extending'upwardly from body 40 into an annular recess'of button 44. To the bottom surface of40 a block 47 is'fastened, insulated therefrom, which carriesjthe binding screw 48' to hold theconducting wire; v w

'The'operation-of the signalis as follows: shouldithe operator of'the automobile wish t'o'turn his car to the left, he will shift his foot on the clutch pedal 41 slightly to the leftand touch button 44 of switch 40' marked L'on Fig. IV closing thesame, as the flared base-of 45 (see Fig. VI) will touch block 47 making contact therewith, current will thenpass from the ground through coil 3 lifting armature. 6 with arm 19 and sign panel 17 having the inscription Left thereon attached to that arm. From coil 3 the connection leads to the storage ignition. battery and from that to the body of the car as ground connection. When armature 6 is lifted to its highest position and the sign panel is displayed in the window opening, it will strike the insulated contact point 21.

' forming a connection of the same with the ground, from this point current will pass through a pilot lamp marked L held with two similar ones in a suitable housing on the dashboard of the car and from there through the battery to the ground. In the same manher the two other armatures with their respective sign panels may be operated and in each case apilot lamp will light up as soon as the particular panel is fully lifted. The lamp 27 which serves as a rear light for the car remains always in the circuit and it is arranged to illuminate the sign panels.

A The present invention embodies various novel features which assure a proper functioning of thesignal device and which are improvements over similar devices previously constructed, embodying the principle of lifting sign panels by means of solenoids. In the present device these sign panels are all arranged in front of a series of solenoids and the Weight of the panels inclusive of that of the carrying arms is balanced about the pin 10 in the lower part of their respective armatures, which insures a free and easy moving of their vertical edges in the channel guides 13-1415.

Another improvement is to be found in the manner of operating the pilot lights by means-of a relaycircuit which is closed only when the sign-panel tobe displayed has actually reached its proper position, in this manner thedriver of the' 'car "receives the positive assurance that the sign is displayed by seeing the pilot lam lighted an'd'm case of a failure for any reason, he is'able to give a' m'anualsignal to soar in the rear; The resilient mounting of the contact points in the armatures is airimprovement ofparticular value to insure a rel-iable contact and to permitslight vibrations of the signal-panels without extinguishing, the pilot lamp. In place of pilot-lights a-magnetically operated annunciator might of course be used. In devices where pilot lamps are arranged in the operating circuit there isnoassurance that themechanical part of the device has operated properly; although the pilot lamp may be lighted. V

The push-button switches, their attachment to thepe'dalsand their particular construction for the functions tlieyhaveto perform, are also novel featurespf the invention. In devices heretofore placed on the market, the whole pedal plate was of special construction to perforin the switching operation, -while in the present -device small switches are attached tothe existing pedal plates of any ear by. means of a single screw; These switchesare so designed that they do notoccupy any space on t' 18 top of the pedal-plate, excepting a thin connecting plate. Provision ismade t-hathod-irtor foreign matter can enter the switching mechanism, or interfere with its operation. T his is effected by means of'the projecting ring 49 which enters the annularrecess in button 44 and keeps the deviceclose'd at all times. The vertical movement of button; 44,. required to-closethe"swi'tch'is considerably shorter than the space between the underside of-44 and body 40,that any foreign matter accumulated at that place may not interfere withthe operation of the switch.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is; I 1

In a signaling device of the kind described a casing having parallel front and rear plates, a plurality of solenoids'held near said rear plate at'its central portion, an armature for each solenoid, sign plates adaptits ends to hold said plate in balanced condition the other end of each arm being held at one of said armatures to be lifted thereby 10 and to display its sign plate within said window.

GUSTAV GNAM. [Ls] 

